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Feb. 28, 2014 For Immediate Release CONTACT: In Atlanta, Deborah Hakes +1 404-420-5124 THE CARTER CENTER REPORTS THAT PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN NEPAL HAS IMPROVED; UNDUE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES CONTINUES In a report released today, The Carter Center reports that public perception of local governance has improved over the past year. However, mismanagement of local-level budgets and the persistent role of political parties in influencing local development priorities remain, posing a significant challenge to local development and governance. The report also makes a series of recommendations to the government of Nepal, political parties, civil society organizations, and the international public for local elections, governance, and development. “The Carter Center has found that many citizens believe that the quality of local governance has improved in the past year, particularly since the dissolution of the All Party Mechanism in January 2012. Center observers also noted that many bureaucratic mechanisms designed to increase the role of women, marginalized group representatives, and citizens in general appear to have been relatively successful in boosting local-level participation,” said David Hamilton, field office director for The Carter Center in Kathmandu. “However, significant obstacles that have skewed local development priorities and hampered the quality of service delivery remain in place. The voices of disadvantaged group representatives appear to be ignored when final decisions on local priorities are made,” said Hamilton. The report, based on field observations between February and August 2013, found increased levels of public participation in mechanisms such as Ward Citizen Forums and a perception that money was spent on more local governance projects of need in the local area. The majority of citizens interviewed for the report claim that local governance still faces challenges, including reduced or late budget disbursals, redirection of funds earmarked for disadvantaged groups, and absenteeism of local government officials. Carter Center observers also reported that political parties remain engaged in local governance, although how they affect the process appears to be more uncertain since the dissolution of the All Party Mechanism. Of the citizens interviewed, the majority wanted to hold local elections as soon as possible, as they believed it would make local bodies more accountable. With the completion of the second Constituent Assembly election on Nov. 19, 2013, the issue of holding local elections also has regained momentum. Additional findings of the report: Disadvantaged groups reportedly participated during the planning and implementation of local projects, although the impact of this participation remains in doubt. Although civil society and political party representatives were positive about the role of Ward Citizen Forums in increasing citizens' participation in the planning process, interviewed citizens raised concerns about the quality of participation and/or the ability of Ward Citizen Forums to prioritize projects. Most Nepalis have limited knowledge of planning and budget allocation for local governance, with few knowing about Ward Citizen Forums and even less of Citizen Awareness Centers. “Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.” A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Please visit www.cartercenter.org to learn more about The Carter Center. Local Governance in Nepal: Public Participation and Perception Feb. 28, 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local governance is crucial for any country, as local-level decisions tend to have a more immediate and direct impact on citizens than those abstract policy directives made at the central level. Yet the topic is particularly salient for post-conflict countries such as Nepal, especially given the sensitive and profound nature of the debate about how power in a future Nepali state would be devolved through federalism and the fact that the country has been without local elected representatives for more than 12 years. How citizens view the role of local officials and themselves in the provision of key public services—including health, education, and road infrastructure—shapes how citizens assess the capacity of the state to respond to their needs and to implement the peace process as a whole. A number of national and international organizations have looked into measures to improve local governance in recent years. The 2007 interim constitution committed Nepal to federal restructuring and emphasized local-level governance measures designed to increase inclusiveness for those considered marginalized or disadvantaged while an overall state structure is finalized. As such, a considerable number of local governance actors and development projects in recent years have focused on ways to improve disadvantaged group participation and increase effectiveness of local governance mechanisms. There has also been a renewed impetus to hold local elections after the second Constituent Assembly elections on Nov. 19, 2013. The complexity and scale of local governance make definitive analysis beyond the scope of this report. But given the context and the recently concluded Constituent Assembly election, there is an important opportunity to explore perceptions of local governance. More specifically, this report asks how local-level interlocutors perceive the status of—and public participation in— local governance in light of the continued absence of locally elected officials. Importantly, it assesses the role of political parties and various mechanisms designed to increase citizen participation in local governance, particularly those from disadvantaged groups, while also asking how local-level stakeholders perceive local governance to have changed in the past 18 months. In part, this focus on the perceived changes in local governance over the recent months is because of the dissolution of the All Party Mechanism in January 2012, a mechanism that many—including The Carter Center—believed had an adverse effect on the priorities of local governance. Finally, the report highlights the degree of awareness that local-level interlocutors 1 had about mechanisms and procedures devised to foster their participation as well as technical terms associated with local governance. Such analysis has been central to the Carter Center’s reporting for some time, notably in reports on identity-based political activity and federalism published in March 2013. The findings in this report are based on field observations from February to August 2013, but they also draw upon our continuous observation of the peace and constitution-drafting processes from June 2009. In September 2013, The Carter Center established an International Election Observation Mission in Nepal and observed the country’s second Constituent Assembly election on Nov. 19, 2013. However, the findings of this report are based solely on the previous Carter Center mission to observe the peace process and constitution-drafting process. Key findings of the report include: Late and reduced budget disbursals, the redirection of funds earmarked for disadvantaged groups, and local government official absenteeism were identified as some of the main challenges to local governance. Political parties continue to be involved in local governance/development bodies, albeit on a more informal basis than before the dissolution of the All Party Mechanism. Disadvantaged groups reportedly participated in the planning and implementation of local projects, although the impact of this participation remains in doubt. Many civil society and political party representatives were positive about the role of Ward Citizen Forums (WCF) in increasing citizens’ participation in the planning process. However, interlocutors raised concerns about the quality of participation and/or the ability of WCFs to prioritize programs. Most citizens continue to have a limited knowledge about planning and budget allocation for local governance, with few hearing of WCFs and even less of Citizen Awareness Centers (CAC). The majority of civil society and political party representatives supported the idea of holding local elections, arguing that it would improve performance and accountability of local bodies. The report concludes with some key recommendations, including: To The Government of Nepal: Hold local body elections as soon as possible. Streamline existing rules and regulations, particularly with regard to budget allocation and disbursement. Ensure timely budget disbursal. 2 Fill vacant village development committee secretary positions and ensure that people transferred out are replaced with minimal delay. Implement stringent measures to reduce village development committee secretary absenteeism, including censuring secretaries who are found in violation. Continue to encourage public participation at all levels of governance and strengthen established mechanisms to ensure meaningful participation of disadvantaged groups in local development at all stages of the decision-making process. Implement a code of conduct for political parties to ensure